Stray Cats – Stray Cat Strut

Song

"Stray Cat Strut" is the third single by American rockabilly band Stray Cats, released April 17, 1981 by Arista Records in the UK, where it peaked at No. 11 on the Singles Chart.

It was taken from the band's 1981 debut album, Stray Cats. That same year, as an import, it peaked at No. 78 on the US Disco Top 80 chart. In the US, the song was released as a single by EMI America on June 11, 1982 and included on the Built for Speed album released that same month.

It became a hit in the US, peaking at No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100, prevented from further chart movement by Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band's "Shame on the Moon" and Michael Jackson's "Billie Jean".

The music video for the song received extensive airplay on MTV during the channel's early days. The video consisted of band members (and extras) performing in an alley while an irate resident throws things at them. It also featured scenes from the 1949 MGM cartoon Bad Luck Blackie.

In the October 1998 issue of Guitar World magazine, Brian Setzer's solo from "Stray Cat Strut" ranked No. 92 on the "Top 100 Guitar Solos of All Time" list.

Album

Stray Cats is the first studio album by American rockabilly band Stray Cats, first released in the United Kingdom by Arista Records in February 1981. It was produced by the band and Dave Edmunds.

The album was successful in Britain, peaking at No. 6 on the UK Albums Chart, and produced the UK Singles Chart top 40 hits "Runaway Boys" (No. 9), "Rock This Town" (No. 9) and "Stray Cat Strut" (No. 11).Rock and Roll Hall of Fame later listed "Rock This Town" as one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll".

The fifth track on the album, "Storm the Embassy", was written about the Iran hostage crisis of 1979–80.

The album was only issued in the United States after the success of the band's first American album, 1982's Built for Speed. However, six of the songs from Stray Cats ("Rock This Town", "Stray Cat Strut", "Rumble in Brighton", "Runaway Boys", "Double Talkin' Baby" and "Jeanie, Jeanie, Jeanie") were already included on Built for Speed.

Artist

Stray Cats are an American rockabilly band formed in 1979 by guitarist and vocalist Brian Setzer, double bassist Lee Rocker, and drummer Slim Jim Phantom in the Long Island town of Massapequa, New York.

The group had numerous hit singles in the UK, Australia, Canada and the U.S. including "Stray Cat Strut", "(She's) Sexy + 17", "Look at That Cadillac," "I Won't Stand in Your Way", "Bring it Back Again", and "Rock This Town", which the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame has listed as one of the songs that shaped rock and roll.

Gli Stray Cats sono stati un gruppo rockabilly statunitense originario di Long Island (nello stato di New York) formata nel 1979 dal cantante e chitarrista Brian Setzer insieme ai compagni di scuola Slim Jim Phantom e Lee Rocker.